Founders of the Berkeley Kite Festival'sAnnual Tradition... The "Octopile!"

Formed at the turn of the Millennium, the Berkeley Kite Wranglers have become the premier giant creature-kite team on the planet. The Wrangler collection contains nearly 30,000 square feet of giant creature kites and is the largest of its kind on earth.

Giant kites in the Wrangler stable include cats, bears, geckos, manta rays, tropical fish, lobsters, frogs, a prehistoric trilobite and much more. “I don’t know why,” said Wrangler John Khan, but “I have always had a strange affinity for frogs. They are not the biggest kites in our collection but I have always liked them.” The giant octopi kites also seem to hold a special fascination for the team and awestruck festival crowds.

At the 2010 Berkeley Kite Festival the Wranglers and friends few 21 giant Peter Lynn Octopi. Each giant octopus kite is 20-feet wide and nearly 100 feet long. The pod, or “Octopile” as the team likes to call it, flies in perfect formation as if it knew it were part of the team. With all those tentacles floating rhythmically in the air, the Octopile seems to take on a life of its own. “One or two giant Octopi kites are a sight to see,” Wrangler member Tom McAlister, “but when the Berkeley Kite Wranglers fly their Octopile of nine, ten or even more it becomes a wondrously vibrant spectacle you have to see to believe. And once you see it, you will never forget it.”

Berkeley Kite Wranglers are always featured at the Berkeley Kite Festival & West Coast Kite Championships. This years Berkeley Kite Festivalis produced by Highline Kites of Berkeley and alway at the end of July.

Formed at the turn of the Millennium, the Berkeley Kite Wranglers have become the premier giant creature-kite team on the planet. The Wrangler collection contains nearly 30,000 square feet of giant creature kites and is the largest of its kind on earth.